尖細的碎片，和裂成碎片的方式
這一族就是核心畫面本身：先有那根細長的尖片，再有「裂成那種尖片」的動作。
noun · B2
A thin, sharp piece of wood, glass or metal that has broken off a bigger piece. A small one can get stuck in your skin and hurt.
碎片；（扎進皮膚的）小刺
核心畫面
A useful picture for splinter: something solid cracks, and what comes away is not a neat block but a long thin piece with a sharp point. Every use of the word keeps that shape. The bit in your finger is one. The way old wood breaks is one. And the small, angry group that leaves a big organisation is one too — it came off the main body, it is much smaller than what it left, and it is sharp about it.
splinter 可以想成這個畫面：一塊完整的東西裂開，掉下來的不是方方正正的一塊，而是細細長長、一頭很尖的一條。它…更多收起
splinter 可以想成這個畫面：一塊完整的東西裂開，掉下來的不是方方正正的一塊，而是細細長長、一頭很尖的一條。它的每一種用法都保留這個形狀。扎進手指的那根是它。舊木頭裂開的方式是它。從大組織裡帶著火氣分出去的小團體，也是它：從主體上裂下來、比原來小很多、而且帶著稜角。From the word’s history
The packet records the noun as Middle English splenter / splinter, from Middle Dutch splinter, and equivalent to splint plus -er; the verb is recorded as coming from the noun. Splint is a thin flat strip of wood, which is why the shape, not just the breaking, sits at the centre of the word.
資料把名詞記成中古英語 splenter／splinter，來自中古荷蘭語 splinter，拆開是 splint 加 -er。動詞則記成是從名詞來的。splint 本身就是薄薄一條木片，這解釋了為什麼這個字的重點不只是「破掉」，而是破成什麼形狀。
Wiktionary (kaikki extract, source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:331172815 and :331207951)
Two branches
團體裂成小塊
把裂開的木頭換成一群人。畫面不變：整塊裂成好幾條，每條都比原來小，而且拼不回去。
verb · C1
If a group, party or organization splinters, it breaks up into smaller groups, usually because the members no longer agree; an argument or a decision can also splinter a group.
分裂（成小團體）